Always be respectful towards your Elders
by Chaniha
Summary: Zoro is a beautiful girl and Sanji is swooning over him .. errr .. her. Yaoi BoyxBoy SanjixZoro
1. Encounter with a helpless little Granny

**Yay, finally a new story. I'm sorry it took that long ^^ Well, i originally had planned to write for the 100 themes challenge first, but well i got this crazy idea in my head and i thought i should write it down xD And here it is :)**

**Disclaimer: One Piece and his characters definitely don't belong to me. **

**Warnings: Yaoi, means boyxboy (i warned you :D) and swearing (do i really have to make a swearing warning?! this is Sanji and Zoro we're talking about XD)**

**Well, i hope you'll like the story :D**

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On a bright and sunny afternoon the Thousand Sunny anchored at a small island called Javia to restock their supplies.

The first thing Nami did was asking one of the habitants how long it would take for the logpose to memorize a new course, because she didn't want to lose their old course.

Apparently it would take almost a year which meant they didn't have to rush things and maybe they could even rest for a few days.

When Nami came back, the whole crew gathered in the galley to talk about their stay on the island.

The read-haired girl gave everyone money to spend on supplies and money to spend on whatever they wanted.

"Guys, I will tell you your tasks on this island. Sanji you will go and stock up on the food supplies, Zoro will help you to carry them. Chopper and Robin, you will stock up the medicine supply. Franky you'll see if the ship is intact and buy what you need to keep it intact, Usopp will help you. Brook you will go with me. I want to buy new paper and ink and I want to look around the island to draw a map of it."

She made a short pause and Luffy bounced up and down in front of her.

"What's with me? What should I do?"

"You'll just be sure to not get into any kind of trouble."

The rubber man pouted.

"That's no fun. You're mean."

"Alright, you can come with Brook and me. Maybe you can be useful."

"Yaaaay."

Nami just ignored the captain's cheerings and spoke to the crew again.

"You're going to stay at the inn in the port town tonight. I'll reserve rooms for you before we leave the town. Brook, Luffy and I will sleep in another town tonight, we won't be able to see the whole island today. We'll come back tomorrow. Did you understand everything?"

Everyone agreed and Nami nodded confidently.

"Ah and guys? Don't get into any kind of trouble or I'll kill you."

With a last smile which sent shivers down Usopp's and Chopper's spine she turned on her heels and left the ship with the two boys in tow.

Sanji searched for his cigarettes and turned towards Zoro.

"Well, I'm not particularly fond of our team but at least you're able to carry the heavy stuff."

"Che, I'm not your pack-mule you know"

Sanji grinned evilly.

"Well, for today you will be. You shouldn't anger the person who's cooking for you and you heard what Nami said. You have to follow her orders."

Zoro decided to drop the subject after he thought about how bitchy Nami would be if he's not doing what she told him. He let out a sigh.

"Let's get over with it."

(*~+~*)

Five hours and a lot of arguments later the both of them returned to the ship, their hands full with food supplies.

After they stowed everything away they went to the front deck where Usopp and Franky were currently busy with reparing some minor damage they got during their last fight with marines. The shipwright stopped working and looked at the two men.

"Finished your tasks already?"

"Yeah, we got everything we needed."

Sanji took a cigarette from his pack and lit it with his lighter.

"But if that idiot marimo hadn't gone lost once, we would have been faster."

"Shut up. It was your fault. You stacked the bags and packages I had to carry too high so I couldn't see where I was walking."

"Yeah, right."

"I don't need your fucking sarcasm."

Franky sighed and interrupted the fight.

"Don't fight here please, I don't want to repair the damage you would cause.

Usopp tried to help him.

"What will the two of you do in the town, now that you have free time?"

The moment Sanji's feed began floating and hundreds of hearts were flying around him they already knew the answer.

"Of course I'm going to see if I can find some pretty ladies. Maybe I'll meet Robin and we're going on a date."

"Yeah, Yeah!"

Usopp now turned towards Zoro.

"And you?"

"Don't know, I think I'm going to find some booze."

"I see."

"What will you do?"

"Nothing much today. It's going to be evening when we're finished with the ship. Therefore I think we'll just go eat something and then go to the inn Nami was talking about."

"Alright. Well I'll go now. Good luck with your repairs."

With that said Zoro turned around to search for some pub in town and he noticed that a few steps behind him Sanji was going into the same direction; searching for a prey .. err .. woman.

Soon after he turned around a corner he was lost. Again. He swore lightly and looked around only to see a forest in front of him. How the hell did he get there even though he was only searching for some booze.

He saw something moving in the corner of his eye and turned towards the cause of the movement. Standing there was a small old granny with a basket full of herbs on her back.

She looked at him and slowly began to walk towards him.

"Hey youngster. Could you help me please? I'm lost and I can't find my way back home."

"Sorry Granny but I don't know the way either."

Her face had a shocked expression and she almost screamed at him.

"What do you mean, you don't know. You're too young for Alzheimer."

A vein popped on Zoro's forehead but he tried to stay calm, remembering himself that the person in front of him was a helpless old lady.

"Alzheimer? I don't know the way, yeah that's right, but that doesn't mean I'm ill with Alzheimer. You're living on this island, not me. You should know the way."

"How rude. Who are you to insult me? Didn't your mother teach you to be respectful towards your Elders. Besides, what's with your hairstyle? Dying your hair green. Youngsters, nowadays. When I was young we had to work from dawn till dusk. We hadn't as much freedom as you. We never even had the time to get lost."

Screw the helpless little granny part.

"What the hell. You're saying I'm insulting you and now you're criticizing my hair color? The color's natural. I didn't dye it."

Now they were really fighting. A grown up man and a little granny only half of the height.

"How shameless. Now you're daring to talk against me. You're going to regret it boy. Believe me."

She searched inside of her pocket until she found a little vial. She tossed it towards Zoro and it broke, spilling it contents all over the green haired man.

"What the hell. What was inside of the bottle?"

The granny laughed evilly and began to walk away.

"You'll see youngster, you'll see.

Zoro's body began to heat up and he felt as if his bones and skin were going to melt. He went down on his knees and by the time his torso hit the floor he was already unconscious.

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**Just tell me if it's good or bad or if i have to improve on something. And please, tell me if i made any big grammar mistakes ^^**

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	2. A fairy or an angel?

**I know it took me a while to upload this chapter but well, life kept me busy ^^ I hope you like the chapter, even though it's not as long as i hoped it would be *g***

**Have fun :D Oh and, thank you all for your reviews, i really appreciate them :) You all are a big help and please don't hesitate to point out my mistakes xD i also welcome critics, but please no flaming :) **

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Sanji walked down a few roads and wondered where Robin could have gone, maybe she would go on a date with him. Maybe she's somewhere out of town with Chopper. Chopper wanted to see if there were any medical herbs on the island and Robin wouldn't let a chance to see if there's anything of archeological interest just go to waste.

Therefore he took the next road to go out of town towards the wide forest. The more he walked the more details he noticed. The field of flowers in front of the forest 'Maybe I should pick a few for my lovely Robin-chwan', the butterflys and bees flying around said flowers and he even saw a rabbit standing in the meadow looking at the surroundings. The moment the little animal noticed someone coming it turned around and ran towards the forest in a zig zag course.

All in all the scenery looked peaceful. He wondered if he could ask Robin to make a picnic on this meadow. It would be perfect.

But then he saw something which didn't fit in the perfect scenery. Someone was laying on the ground not moving and the person had green hair. 'Green hair? Marimo? No, impossible, he would never sleep in a place like that and what's more the person lying there has longer hair.' He was lost in thought while he hurried over to the person there. He knelt down beside the unmoving figure and tried to wake the person. He saw it was a girl and a beautiful one to boot.

"Hey little miss, are you alright? What are you doing here?"

The girl moved a bit and let out a small moan but she didn't wake up.

Sanji was at a loss at what to do with the girl. He couldn't just leave her here, but he had no idea where Chopper was. He decided it would be the best to bring her to the inn where they were staying. Afterwards he could try to find the little doctor.

He moved one arm under her neck and the other one under her knee bends and carried her bridal style back to the inn.

The desk clerk looked at him in bewilderment but gave him the key to his room without any comments.

Sanji opened the door to his room and carefully laid the still unconscious girl down on his bed.

The room was rather simple. Besides the bed there was only a small table with a chair and an antique looking commode for clothes. On the right side of the room door there was another small door leading to the bathroom with only a shower a toilet and a washing basin.

After laying her down he took a step back and watched her with more interest than before. She had long wavy green hair that reached to her waist. Her figure was delicate and her face was astonishing. He wouldn't be surprised if she had wings on her back and would fly away like a fairy at any moment.

Sanji walked to the bathroom to soak a towel with cool water which he put on her forehead because he noticed she was running a bit of a fever.

He wasn't sure what he should do now. Should he get Chopper or should he stay by her side. Most probably she would be very surprised to wake up in unfamiliar surroundings with no one around. But what if she's seriously ill and he caused the death of such a beautiful girl just because he didn't get a doctor to look at her.

While he still hesitated on what to do the girl let out a moan and opened her eyes.

Sanji didn't even notice because he was too busy with his own thoughts.

She sat up and looked at the blonde man strangely.

"Where am I?"

Sanji turned around and walked to the bed in an instant. Her voice sounded angelic and he wondered if she's not a fairy but an angel instead.

"Are you alright my lady? I found you collapsed outside of town and brought you to my hotel room to take care of you. Are you hurt anywhere? Should I call for a doctor? One of my nakama is a very good doctor. You only have to say a word and I'll get him."

Seeing her up close she really had gorgeous eyes. They had a deep green color and while looking at her he felt as if he was under a spell. He never knew eyes could have this effect until now.

"No, thank you. I'm alright, at least I think so. But, may I ask who you are?"

"Of course, how rude of me. My name is Sanji you're knight in shining armor. May I ask what name a beautiful lady just as you could have?"

While saying that he got on his knees, took her hand in his hand and put a small chaste kiss on the back of her hand which made her blush a little.

"My name is Sara."

"Sara?! What a wonderful name. The name of an angel. Why did you collapse there?"

"I don't know, I can't remember. My head hurts."

She closed her eyes and put her hands on her head while hoping the headache would disappear.

"Would you please wait here, my dear?! I'll go get the doctor. Please rest for a while longer until I'm back, alright?"

"Yeah, sleeping sound's good."

Sara laid back onto the pillow and fell asleep almost instantly while Sanji walked out of the room in order to search for book shops where he guessed Chopper would be.

After he had walked into 4 different shops he finally found Chopper and Robin.

"Robin, I'm really pleased to see you and I would really like to go on a date with you but it has to wait."

Robin just smiled at him and watched him with interest as he turned towards Chopper.

"Chopper, you have to come with me. There's this girl I found collapsed on the street and she says her head hurts. Could you look at her, please?"

"Someone's hurt?! Of course, I'll come with you immediately."

"Thank you."

"Robin, do you mind if I leave you alone here?"

"It's alright. Please don't mind me. We'll meet again later, alright?!"

"Yeah, thanks."

Sanji and Chopper almost ran towards the hotel while Sanji told him about her fever and how she can't remember why she collapsed.

When the both of them arrived at the room she woke up again and looked at the little doctor.

"Hey Sara. This is Chopper, he's really a very good doctor. He'll help you in no time."

"You're a reindeer."

"I'm not a Tanuki, I'm a reindeer."

She blinked at him in confusion and Chopper blinked back, just realizing what she had said.

"Did you just call me reindeer?!"

"Yes."

Chopper immediately beamed and looked very pleased.

"Idiot. I'm not happy that you knew I'm a reindeer. Idiot. Just because no one else was able to notice at first sight. I'm definitely not happy."

"But you look happy."

"Am not."

Sanji felt a bit left out of the conversation and interrupted the little argument.

"Chopper, could you please look at her. You know, her head hurts."

"Ah, right. Sanji could you please wait outside while I examine her condition?"

"Of course. Just call me if you need me."

Outside of his room he lit a cigarette and walked up and down the hallway, his thoughts circling around the mysterious woman.

For him it felt like eternity until Chopper opened the door again.

"How is it Chopper?"

The reindeer smiled at him.

"She's alright. The fever isn't very high but she needs a lot of rest. The only problem is her amnesia. The only thing she remembers is her name. It would be best if you stay by her side for a bit. Make sure she drinks some water and please get her something to eat later. We'll see what we'll do with her tomorrow when we're all together again. And maybe we're lucky and she is able to remember something else after she wakes up again."

"Alright, Thank you Chopper. And sorry for interrupting your book hunting."

Sanji smiled at him sincerely and Chopper smiled back.

"It's alright. I'm a doctor. It's my job to help people."

"Well, we'll see us tomorrow."

"Yeah, please take good care of her."

"Promise."

The little reindeer walked down the hallway and left the Hotel to search for Robin.

Meanwhile Sanji walked back into his room and moved a chair near the bed to sit down and watch her sleeping. His heart was filled with worry, but there was also something else. Some kind of curiosity and the wish to get to know her better. He whispered more to himself than to anybody in particular.

"You're really a mysterious girl. I wonder who you are."

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**Hope you liked it :)**

**Please review**

**See ya :D**


	3. I see you

**Hi all :) Sorry for making you wait so long. But well, right now i'm really busy ^^ I'm not able to keep up the speed of my last story xD Around one chapter a day is just to hard ^^**

**Thanks for all your reviews, i really appreciate them. And i'm really sorry i forgot about the whole clothes thing and such. *sweat drop* Well, i fixed it this chapter. I hope it's not that bad ~.~**

**Also, i tried to draw Sara, even though i think the nose is bad ~.~ too big but well, here it is http: // yfrog. com/ jybildeqj (just delete the spaces)**

**But now, on with the show. :D eeh .. the story *g* **

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Sanji had fallen asleep in an awkward and uncomfortable position on the chair he was sitting on. He didn't seem to be in a very deep slumber because every time he was about to lose balance on the chair his body jerked a bit and moved himself back into a more stable position. Almost falling from the chair and jerking back up. This sequence repeated itself over and over again.

By now it has already become morning and the first sun rays shone through the window and the curtains. In the sunlight you could see the fine dust twirling and moving in the air. Outside the room a few birds where chirping their song to greet the new day and the first people could be heard who made their way towards the port and the market.

Sara's chest was slowly rising up and down under her calm breathing until the sun rays hit her face and woke her up.

She opened her eyes and closed them again immediately because of the sudden brightness. She moved a hand up in front of her face to block the light and noticed that she wasn't wearing the same clothes as yesterday. She was wearing a new shirt. In fact it was one of Sanji's shirts, because Chopper had decided to change her into something clean instead of the dirty shirt she was wearing yesterday.

It had been a male shirt, like those Zoro was always wearing and it was far too big for a delicate girl like her and the little doctor had wondered to himself why she was wearing only the shirt and nothing else.

Sanji's shirt didn't fit her either but it was better than the old one. It reached slightly up to her knees and she almost looked like a big child waiting for some candy.

Sara looked around the room and tried to remember how she came here. Her eyes stopped at Sanji who was still almost falling and moving back again. She watched him for a short while and her memories came back to her. His attitude when she woke up the last time. The little reindeer and the big headache she had had.

She stood up from the bed and made her way to the bathroom to wash her face. When she looked into the mirror she stopped to look at herself. Something just didn't feel right, but she couldn't point out what it was.

She moved her hands towards her face, caressed her cheeks and her hair and wondered what it was that felt out of place. The numb feeling in her stomach didn't go away no matter how much she stared at her reflection. She shook her head in order to get the thoughts out of her head and splashed her face with fresh water.

She took one of the towels in the bathroom and looked at herself again. No matter what she did, the uneasy and uncomfortable feeling never left her.

Her thoughts were interrupted by the growling of her stomach. Sara was hungry, after all she hadn't eaten anything since yesterday. Or even longer?! She couldn't remember.

But she had no idea how to get something to eat. Should she wake Sanji up or should she let him sleep?

Suddenly a loud crash could be hurt which made her flinch and she quickly made her way out of the bathroom to see what had happened.

Apparently Sanji finally fell off of the chair in his sleep. He was lying on the floor, his hair was a mess and his face showed a expression of utterly confusion. He looked around and it was clear that he didn't remember that he fell asleep on the chair. His gaze stopped as he saw Sara standing in the door frame and he showed her a small smile.

That gave her the rest. She burst out in laughter and when she saw how Sanji's face became even more confused she even began to shed tears due to all the laughing.

After shrugging off his confusion Sanji stood up from the floor and watched intently as Sara was laughing while holding her stomach. It was as if her laughter was the sweetest sound he ever had the pleasure to listen to.

He stood there without moving an inch, enchanted by her melodious voice. He wished he could hear her singing a song.

Sara slowly stopped laughing and looked at the blonde haired man in front of her. Why was he looking at her like that?

Just in that moment her stomach began growling again and her face turned the shade of a ripe tomato.

Now it was Sanji's turn to laugh.

"We should get you something to eat right? Do you want to have something fast, or is it alright for you to wait for a few minutes? I could cook you something on our ship, I'm a cook you know?! But if you're really hungry we could also eat something in town."

"I don't want to cause you any more trouble than I already did, therefore I'm fine with whatever you decide."

She smiled at him sincerely and Sanji could feel his knee turn to wax.

"Let's go back to the ship. I want to speak to my Nakama too and it's possible to find some of them there already. We also have to ask Nami or Robin for something new for you to wear. You can't always walk around in one of my shirts right?!"

While talking, he laughed a little and when he watched at her more closely, he had to gulp and almost trailed off from what he was saying. Her bare legs, her right shoulder exposed because of the big shirt, her skin almost glittering in the sun. Her big round eyes, those beautiful green orbs, with the color like some depths out in the sea, looking at him, filled with innocence. Once again he had the image of an angel in mind and he felt his head becoming dizzy.

He gulped once more and put on a big smile to take his mind off of such dangerous thoughts.

"Let's go!"

He gave her a long coat so no one would look at her strangely because of walking around with only a shirt.

They left the inn and slowly made their way to the port. Through the market and past all the fancy stores with many interesting things to buy.

Sara looked around with a face like a little child in front of a huge chocolate cake and a huge bowl of strawberries next to it. She walked here and there, staring at the oddities spread through the whole town.

Sanji looked at her with a big smile on his face, thinking it was almost like watching over Luffy just without all the stress. Because even if she stopped sometimes she would always look after Sanji and if he walked too far away she would catch up to him so she wouldn't get lost. In other words, he felt as if walking a dog. A very adorable dog.

They reached the Thousand Sunny in no time and walked to the galley only to find that they were the first ones on the ship.

Sanji moved her to sit down while he made her bacon and eggs for breakfast, of course with a glass of fresh orange juice and a steaming hot cup of coffee. After serving her he sat down beside her and lit himself a cigarette.

"Eat until your full. If it's not enough I can always bring you some more. Just say so."

"It's alright. I think that's more than enough for me. Thank you Sanji. It tastes really great. You're a great cook."

He blushed a bit at that and grinned at her widely.

"You couldn't have given me a better compliment."

She smiled back at him and continued eating her breakfast with refined movements. Sanji stared at her hands and wondered where she had learned to eat like that. Maybe she was some rich princess or anything.

"When you're done eating I'll show you around the ship while we're waiting for the others."

She immediately beamed at him.

"Really?! That would be nice. From what I've seen it's a gorgeous ship. It looks exciting."

Sanji beamed right back at her.

"Yup, the ship is great. And my Nakama are too, even though there sometimes strange. I think you'll like them. But you know, now that I've made you breakfast and promised to show you around the ship, could you do me a favour?!"

She looked at him strangely.

"What is it? I don't think there's much I can do for you."

"I think there is. I would like you to sing something for me. I think it would sound great."

She laughed at that, relieved that there really was something she could do for him after he had helped her.

"Yeah of course. I'll sing something for you."

"Yay!"

Sara finished eating her breakfast and Sanji put her plates into the sink before they left the galley to walk out on deck.

The sun was shining down warm and bright on them and they sat down on the bench before Sara cleared her throat and started to sing the first song that came to her mind.

_Walking through a dream_

_I see you_

_My light in darkness breathing hope of new life_

_Now I live through you and you through me_

_Enchanting_

_I pray in my heart that this dream never ends_

_I see me through your eyes_

Sanji stared at her in awe and didn't know how to react. She really sounded like an angel. A clear voice that was able to sing every single tone nicely.

_You teach me how to see _

_All that's beautiful _

_My senses touch your world I never pictured_

_Now I give my hope to you _

_I surrender _

_I pray in my heart that this world never ends _

_I see me through your eyes _

_Living through life flying high_

She wasn't able to sing more because she was interrupted by a loud shriek. Sanji and Sara both jerked up at the sound and looked into the direction where it came from.

Chopper was standing there looking at her with horror in his eyes.

"What are you doing? You were sick yesterday. You should lie in bed instead of singing and standing in the bright sun. Not that I don't like your singing. It sounded great, but as your doctor I'm saying you should stay in bed. Robin, can she use one of the beds in the girl's quarter?"

He turned his head to face his Nakama that just stood there smiling.

"Of course. I can also search for something else for her to wear. I think she has the same size as Nami."

"That would be really great."

The reindeer smiled at her and then walked over towards Sanji while the girls took off under deck.

"What did you think you were doing? She's a sick person."

"She looked perfectly fine to me this morning. If she had been weird in any way I would have acted accordingly."

He was starting to get pissed. He had wanted to listen to her voice some more.

Chopper just sighed and walked over to the door to follow after the girls.

Robin handed Sara a pink pajama from Nami she could change into, so she could finally take off Sanji's shirt.

"Hello. I think we weren't introduced before. My name is Robin."

"Nice to meet you. My name is Sara."

"Nice to meet you too. I'm going now. Chopper will soon come to see after you. Please just lay down until he's here."

"Thank you."

The two women smiled at each other and after Robin left Sara laid down on the bed.

Just like this morning she felt as if something wasn't right.

She had a feeling as if the Thousand Sunny was somehow familiar to her, but she didn't know why or from when.

She decided to push those thoughts aside and drifted off into a sweet slumber. After all she still had a slight fever, even though she didn't notice how exhausted she was beforehand.

She smiled a bit before falling to sleep, thinking that maybe Sanji would take her out to town again.

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**See you :D**


	4. Like a child

**Yeah it's short and yeah it's not the best i ever wrote, but well i thought i should update because it's been a long time since my last chapter and if i didn't update now i'm not sure when i'll be able to update again. My whole life is just busy at the moment and i feared that if i don't update, i'll never finish this story. Therefore this is the crappiest chapter i've ever written. **

**Please don't mind and wait patiently for the next chapter. **

**But i also have some good news for you. I finally have a story line for this story :D :D :D Yeah, there is one! XD It's not perfect and i know very well that i'll make some changes as the story progresses but i'm proud of my story :3 Ah, but it's not finished i only have about half of the story line, but i hope you'll like it. We'll see *g***

**But now, enjoy this short, terrible chapter and please don't hate me for it. *cry*

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The whole crew of the Strawhats, except for Zoro was currently in the galley of the Thousand Sunny, talking about the situation of Sara.

They thought that Zoro was lost again and therefore Sanji had started to tell what happened yesterday with the mysterious woman.

Right now he walked around the table and put down two steaming hot cups of coffee in front of Robin and Nami as well as a plate of cookies in the middle of the table, well knowing that they won't last for more than five minutes.

Nami showed him a small smile.

"Thank you Sanji-kun. Now everybody, what do you think about Sara? I mean, of course we can't just leave her be, but I think there's not much we can do. Chopper what do you say?"

The little reindeer looked down on the table, thinking about what to say and looking up at his Nakama again.

"Well, when I went to the girl's quarters to see about her condition she was sleeping. So I couldn't ask how she's feeling. What I can say is that she doesn't really have any injuries, just a bit of a fever. But yesterday it seemed as if she has lost part of her memories. She couldn't remember anything else other than her name. I'm a bit worried about that. I'm not sure if she's able to live alone. Maybe we should watch her a bit as long as we're here. It's also possible that she's able to remember something before we leave. Also I think it would be a good idea to show her around the town and the island. Some people who suffered from amnesia were able to get some memories back upon seeing something familiar."

They fell silent for a bit, thinking about the situation. Except for Luffy who was just eating cookies non-stop.

"Hey Sanji, Chopper? Is she nice? Maybe she can be part of our crew."

This suggestion made Sanji's heart jump a bit. He could almost see himself cooking in the kitchen every morning while Sara is sitting at the table talking with him and eating his food.

But this dream was ought to be crushed. By none other than his lovely Nami-swan.

"Don't be silly Luffy. It's possible that there's a family waiting for her to return to them. She can't just come with us."

The only thing that could be heard was Robin's chuckling at Luffy's pouting face and because she noticed how Sanji's face had changed from happy to depressed in the blink of an eye.

She really wanted to see how everything would turn out. It seemed as if something interesting was about to happen.

Nami sighed.

"Well, then we should watch her for a few days and see how everything turns out. Ah, and don't forget to tell Zoro about her. I don't want him to attack her, thinking she's trying to attack us or steal from us or something."

Everyone nodded in agreement.

"Sanji, would you please help her for the time being?"

Said cook suddenly beamed and was floating above the ground.

"Of course Nami-swan! I'll do everything to help her."

(~*+*~)

When Sara awoke the smell of some fresh tea reached her nose and she slowly opened her eyes to search for the source of the delicious smell.

While looking around she remembered that she fell asleep on the Thousand Sunny and her eyes fell upon the figure of a red haired girl drinking some tea and the sound of something being scratched on a piece of paper could be heard.

When Nami heard the ruffling of sheets she looked up from drawing a map and looked at Sara. She grinned at the confused girl.

"Hi there! Did you sleep well? My name's Nami. I'm the navigator on this ship. The clothes you're wearing are mine."

"Hi! My name's Sara. Thank you for lending me your clothes and yeah, I'm feeling better now that I've slept."

Nami grinned some more and laid down the pen she was still holding in her hand.

"Good to hear. Maybe we should go upstairs. I think Sanji will make you something for lunch. You should be hungry, right?"

"Yeah, a bit. Thank you!"

She put back the sheets of the bed and stood up.

"But first we have to find you something else to wear. I'll lend you some more clothes."

"Thank you."

"It's alright."

Nami moved to the closet and searched through all her clothes in order to find something that could look good on Sara.

She settled with a denim skirt and a plain white tank top together with a silver chain belt. It looked really good on Sara and Nami was proud of her work.

"Now let's go to the galley."

(~*+*~)

Sanji was busy baking some cookies when the two girls entered the kitchen and when he saw what Sara was wearing his jaw dropped to the floor and his eyes widened, which made Nami chuckle at Sanji's rather obvious fondness for the green haired.

"Hey Sanji. I wondered if you could cook something for Sara. She didn't have anything for lunch, because she was sleeping."

"Of course. I'll do something about it as fast as possible. Please sit down."

Sara sat down at the table and Nami took her leave saying something about finishing her map before it gets dark. But surprisingly enough Sanji didn't even listen to her, rustling around in the kitchen to fix something to eat for Sara.

"How do you feel?"

"I'm fine, thank you. I was more exhausted than I thought."

"Sorry for dragging you through the whole town and making you sing even though you're not in good condition."

"That's alright. I did it out of my own accord, didn't I?! Furthermore you cooked me something really delicious and you're doing it again right now. I like to do things in return."

The both of them smiled at each other until Sanji forced himself to turn around to the pan again.

'I have to stay calm. This meal has to be the best she ever ate. I wonder why I feel so drawn to her. I've never felt like that before. There's something about her I just can't resist. She's just too cute."

A few minutes later he put down a plate with a turkey steak and fries in front of her and was remembered once again how cute she is when he saw her face brightening up at the sight of the food.

He REALLY liked to watch her eating. She ate with really refined movements just like the last time but at the same time she looked like a little child in front of a full decorated Christmas tree.

"Sanji, your food is really the best I ever ate. I can't stop complimenting you."

A faint blush crept its way unto the cook's face.

"Thank you, it means a lot to me. But somehow it's really embarrassing."

"It needn't be. It's the truth."

The blush deepened a bit and both of them grinned at each other.

'Really cute how she's sitting there with that big adorable smile and those cute clothes. They're looking even better than on Nami-swan.'

His face faltered a bit.

'Did I really just think that? How can I say that about Nami-swan. I'm sick. There's definitely something wrong with me.'

Sara noticed the sudden change of atmosphere and looked at Sanji rather worried.

"Is everything ok with you?"

The blonde looked startled and forced a big grin on his face again.

"Sorry for making you worry. How would you like the idea of going into town again?"

Her worried look disappeared and once more she looked like a little child which made Sanji forget every negative thought he had in mind.

'So cute!'

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**See you all :) **

**And thank you for all of your reviews until now, please keep them up!  
**


	5. confusing memories

**Hi there! I'm sorry it took so long but i didn't have access to the internet this week therefore i couldn't post it earlier. But i do hope that i'll be able to update again this coming week. **

**Yeah, i know the story is getting more and more confusing for all of you, but don't worry. Everything's going to be explained later in the story :3 But i do like your speculations in the reviews *g***

**Please keep up the reviews. Love you all :D **

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While Sanji washed the dishes Sara decided to explore the ship some more.

First she looked under deck and found Franky repairing some chairs which broke when Sanji and Zoro had their last fight. He looked up from his work and saw a curious look in Sara's eyes.

"Hey there girl. My name's Franky. I'm the shipwright here."

"Hi! My na..."

"No need to introduce yourself. I already know who you are, Sara."

He grinned at her and she grinned right back at him.

"What happened to those chairs, Franky?"

"Ah, Sanji and Zoro fought and every time they do I have to fix the damage afterwards."

"Why did they fight?"

"No idea. Well, they always fight because of unimportant matters."

"Sanji fighting? I can't imagine that, he seems really nice."

"Everyone in this crew is nice, but they're all able to fight pretty well. Never judge a book by it's covers. "

He moved his hand upwards to scratch the back of his head.

"But normally they're only fighting against enemies and never against their own Nakama. Only Zoro and Sanji do that. But it wouldn't be right if they suddenly start to be nice to each other."

"That Zoro seems to be a really interesting person. I would like to meet him. Is he here on this ship too?"

"Oh no, he's not here. He got lost again. His sense of direction is that of a watermelon. He doesn't have any."

"NO!"

Franky's head jerked up to look at Sara who was just as surprised as him that she had suddenly yelled out. She blushed and looked a bit uncomfortable, covering her mouth with her right hand.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to yell, I don't know why I did it. I just think I can't believe someone has such bad sense of direction."

She tried to laugh it off and quickly said goodbye in order to escape from the thick atmosphere in the room.

She walked back on deck and looked up at the crow's nest. Maybe she was able to calm down if she was up there. Therefore she made her way to the little cabin on top of the mast and was relieved to find it empty. She climbed up the rest and closed the hatch behind her.

She took a look at her surroundings and saw a few weights and a big bench going along the whole round wall of the room. The look outside was really astonishing. On one side she could see the wide, deep blue and currently calm sea and on the other side she saw the island with its green and beautiful forests, the port town which should be full of live right now and the beautiful beach along the right border of the island.

She sat down on the bench and opened one of the many windows. She took a deep breath and let the wind flow through her hair while her thoughts drifted away from her current location and back to the conversation she had with Franky.

'Why did I yell at him? I don't even know this Zoro, so why did I suddenly have this urge to defend him? I don't understand myself anymore. And why is everything on this ship so familiar to me?

Even though I lost my memories I definitely know that I've never been on this ship before, so why?'

She frowned and moved her hands towards her temples.

'I should stop thinking for now, the only thing that comes out of it is a big headache.'

She let out a big sigh and looked around the room once more. Her sight fell on the big weight in the middle of the room and she stood up to walk slowly towards the weight.

She looked at it with a confused look until she brought her hands to the handle and tried to lift the weight. Of course it was too heavy for her and due to the force she used she lost her balance and fell back on her behind.

'Weird, I could swear that I once was able to lift that weight. But that's impossible, of course it's too heavy for me. What is this, I feel like I'm missing something very important.'

She was brought back to reality when she heard Sanji's voice from deck below.

"OIII! Sara! Where are you? I'm ready to go into town now."

She walked over to the open window and looked down on the grass.

"Really? Yay!"

Sanji looked up towards where he heard the voice and saw Sara looking down at him while grinning from ear to ear. With the sun shining on her hair and her sparkling green eyes she really looked adorable and he couldn't help but stare in awe at her while his heart skipped a beat.

'I think I'm really falling in love right now. She's just too cute.'

He waited for her to come down from the crow's nest and tried to get a grip on his emotions again. It wouldn't be good to just jump at her. Suddenly he felt really shy and wasn't sure what to do. Until now he never had any problems to coo over woman but it was a totally different subject with Sara. He couldn't be like his usual self. He was too scared to lose her because of something he did.

His thoughts were interrupted when a head suddenly appeared in his field of vision. A very cute head which was looking at him with eyes full of concern.

"Is everything alright with you Sanji?"

He blinked at her with confusion until a big grin popped up on his face and he decided to forget those thoughts until a later time.

"Of course! Let's go."

They said goodbye to the rest of the crew and made their way to the town walking next to each other.

"Now Sara, what do you want to do?"

She looked at him and thought about his question for a while until she smiled from ear to ear.

"I want to go to the market again. There were many interesting things. I want to look at them some more."

"Alright. Then let's go there."

He smiled right back at her and they slowly made their way to the market looking at their surroundings and talking about stuff like the weather and the beautiful sight Sara had from the crow's nest.

When they arrived at the market Sara stormed off towards the first booth, looking at some vases and pottery in different colors and with different images.

"They're cute! And they really have good quality! They must be at least 80 years old. "

The merchant looked at her and smiled.

"You have good eye, young lady. Those are indeed around 80 to 90 years old. There once lived a family on this island, famous throughout the whole world for their high quality pottery. They're really rare because there is only one member of the family left and no one to continue with the tradition. "

While he was speaking Sanji had arrived at the booth at well. He took one of the bowls into his hand and inspected it while holding it in front of the sunlight.

"It's a shame that they stopped making pottery. Those are really good."

The merchant looked at him with a hint of sadness in his eyes.

"Well, that's just how it is. Nowadays people aren't interested in those things anymore. Do you want to buy one? I'll give you a 20 % discount because I like the both of you and it's rare to see some young people interested in pottery."

"Thank you very much. I think I'll take one of the bowls. I could use it as a fruit bowl. The one we had broke last week when I tried to throw Luffy out of the galley."

Sara giggled at him and eyed the different bowls.

"Which one do you want? I think that one over there is really nice."

She pointed at a large turquoise bowl that looked just like the sea on a calm and sunny day.

"Yeah, that one looks good. I think I'll take it."

"Good choice young man. I'll wrap it in old newspapers so it won't break while walking through the town."

Sanji thanked the merchant and waited patiently while his new bowl was wrapped. He paid for it and Sara and Sanji bid their farewell to the nice man and started to walk toward other booths.

Suddenly Sara stopped without a warning and Sanji stopped as well to look at her in confusion.

"What's the matter?"

It seemed as if she didn't hear what Sanji had said to her. She was just looking at some old and grey little shop labeled "Antiques" and walked towards the door without even looking at Sanji.

"Hey Sara? What's wrong with you?"

Sara seemed to be brought back to reality and turned her head towards Sanji, but she still had an unreadable expression on her face.

"I want to go in there. Can we, please?"

He raised one of his eyebrows and wondered what the reason for her weird behavior was but didn't say anything about it.

"Sure. Go ahead."

Sure enough she hurried towards the door and opened it without hesitation, followed by Sanji. The inside was the same grey as the outside and it seemed as if not many people found their way into the little shop. It looked gloomy, the only light source was the window towards the street which was covered in dust and at the ceiling a few spider webs could be seen.

Sara didn't even look around she walked just straight through the selling room towards a black and dusty shelf. On top of the shelf sat an old doll.

The doll had blonde, sun bleached hair and wore a frilly red dress with laces everywhere. In its hand it held a black umbrella which looked almost grey due to its age. On the porcelain face were bright red lips drawn and the eyes where coal black.

Sara looked at it as if she was under a spell. She couldn't take her eyes of the doll.

'I know this doll. It's as if it once belonged to me. But it looks at least 20 years old. I'm not that old. That can't be. What the hell is wrong with my memories? Nothing makes sense anymore.'

Her head began to ache and her face became a grimace full of pain and worry.

But the next moment her face relaxed again because her mind went black and she fell over, slipping into unconsciousness.

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**See you :D**

**Edit: I made a few corrections. I wanted to hit myself on the head when i read it once again and saw my mistakes. But i'm not sure i found every mistake. So sorry for my bad english *sniff*  
**


	6. Mutual Feelings

**Yay hello everybody :D I wanted to post this chapter a bit earlier than usual because i kept you waiting for a long time for the 5th chapter. **

**Thank you for all your reviews. I love you guys *waving flags for all of you* **

**Fluff is in the air for this chapter. I hope you'll like it *squeal* and a lot of confusion as well *g* oh, i like to confuse all of you xD and well whoever is able to find out what i'm plotting will be given credits for the resolving chapter and a very big virtual chocolate cake XD **

**But now on with the chapter ;)  
**

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The moment Sanji saw Sara falling his heart stopped beating and his mind went blank. Out of reflex he took a big step forward and caught her before her head met with the cold, hard and dirty floor.

"Sara, hey Sara, what's wrong?"

He shook her carefully and while his right arm held her tightly he used his left hand to caress her cheek, hoping she would wake up again.

She moaned slightly and a frown showed up on her face as if she had a nightmare.

~Flashback~

It was a sunny day and a small green haired girl was playing on a green field full of flowers.

That is, until her eyes fell upon the figure of a woman watching her. Her eyes lit up and a grin spread on her face while she ran towards the woman.

"Mommy!"

Her mother spread her arms and knelt down to hug her beloved daughter, grinning just as happily as the little girl.

"Hey little angel. We should go back home. After all today's your birthday. A cake and a present are waiting for you."

The smile on the girl's face grew even wider.

"A cake and a present! YAY!"

All the way back to the house the child sang a self created song with only two words as lyrics. "Cake" and "Present". Her mother walked beside her and laughed at the song while she looked at her daughter with a loving gaze.

When they arrived at home the girl began to ran towards the living room and let out a squeal when she saw the carefully wrapped gift. It was red with a big, white ribbon around it.

She didn't care about the wrapping and just tried to unwrap her gift as fast as possible.

When she actually succeeded she squealed with delight upon seeing a beautiful porcelain doll with a red frilly dress and a black umbrella in her hand.

"Mommy! It's beautiful. It's the doll I always wanted. You really bought it. Thank you so much."

She stood up and ran towards her mother to hug her.

"I know that you always wanted this doll. Only the best for my little angel."

She caressed her daughter's hair lovingly and gave her a peck on the forehead.

"I love you mommy."

"I love you, too, my little angel. After all you were the greatest gift for me!"

~Another Flashback~

A small boy was fighting with two swords against a girl that was a bit older than him but only used one sword. But even though he had two swords, the boy was completely helpless against the girl and only three attacks later the girl had managed to throw the swords out of his hands.

She had a triumphant expression on her face while the boy looked angry.

"Well Zoro, I win again."

"Tche, just wait and see Kuina. One day I will be able to beat you."

"In your dreams."

While Kuina smiled happily Zoro still scowled at her because he felt as if she didn't take him seriously.

~End of Flashbacks~

Sara slowly opened her eyes and while blinking the dizziness away she noticed that she was back in the hotel room.

Sanji immediately saw that she had woken up and grabbed her hand to show her that he's here. He only whispered because he didn't want to startle her.

"Hey Sara. Are you alright?"

She slowly turned her head towards Sanji.

"Yeah, I'm alright. How long have I been out cold?"

"You've been out for an hour. If you hadn't woken up I would have left to fetch Chopper. I'm glad you`re awake again. What happened in the shop?"

"I don't really know. It's just that this doll seemed so familiar to me."

A look of wonder made his way onto Sanji's face.

"Really? Did you get back some of your memories?"

She thought about it for a while and remembered the two flashbacks she had while she was unconscious. But she couldn't understand what they meant and therefore denied Sanji's question. It wouldn't do any good if he got worried because of those memories. He looked at her with a mix of disappointment and relief.

"Is that so."

He wasn't sure what he should feel. On one hand he wanted her to regain her memories because she deserved it, but on the other hand he didn't want her to regain the memories because he was scared that she would leave when she remembered everything about her. He didn't want her to leave. He wanted to be with her even longer. He wanted her for himself. He didn't want to know if she had a family waiting for her. He …

He was selfish. And he hated himself for it.

"Is everything alright Sanji?"

He was brought back to reality and immediately changed his frowning face into a smiling one.

"Of course! What about you? Feeling dizzy or anything?"

"No, I'm alright again. Thank you for taking care of me and sorry for making you worry."

She shifted her hand so Sanji's hand was inside hers and held it tighter to reassure him.

"It's alright."

His heart skipped a beat again when he looked at her. An idea came to his mind.

"Hey, what would you think about a picnic? We could buy something to eat in town and then we'll search for a quiet and nice place outside of town to eat."

She looked at him happily.

"That would be really nice. I would like that."

"Alright, then let's go."

He pulled on her hand to help her out of bed and the both of them made their way to the market still holding hands which made Sanji happier than he has ever been in his life.

He decided to buy some bread, some cheese, some red wine and for dessert he bought some delicious looking strawberries.

Afterwards they made their way outside of town and towards the field where Sanji found Sara unconscious. He remembered how beautiful it had been with all those flowers and butterflies.

Sara unfolded the blanket she had took from the hotel room with them and laid it down on the grass so they could sit down on it.

Sanji took the bread and used a sharp knife to cut some slices and handed one to Sara before slicing the cheese too. He opened the wine and poured some into two glasses, he also handed one of those to Sara and she took everything with a small thanks.

They smiled at each other clinked glasses and took a small sip from their drinks before eating in silence.

Sara felt content and looked up at Sanji and when she saw how his golden locks were captured by the sun and glittered almost heavenly she felt her heartbeat speed up a bit.

She knew that she liked him because of everything he did for her. He took care of her when she was unconscious, his cooking was top notch and speaking to him never got boring. The longer the time was that she spent with him the less she cared about regaining her memories.

She only noticed that she was staring when Sanji stopped eating and looked at her in confusion.

"Is something on my face?"

Sara blushed and averted her eyes from him.

"No, that's not it. I was just lost in thought."

"I see."

Seeing her blush made his heart flutter and his head couldn't form a complete sentence. Which led to a beet red face on his part.

"This afternoon … You and me … I mean … It was nice wasn't it? … I like you ... err … I mean … I liked the time with you."

She smiled at him and her face went even redder.

"Yeah, me too."

She took his hand in hers and tightened her grip on it. Upon feeling the pressure he lifted his head and looked in her eyes intently while she looked right back at him.

When he saw affection in her eyes he couldn't hold back anymore and slowly moved his head towards her. Sara noticed this motion and also brought her head closer to his head.

They closed their eyes and conquered the rest of the distance. Their lips met and Sara let out a content sigh because she felt as if it was a dream coming true. Sanji moved his hands towards her head and while his left hand came to a rest on her cheek his right hand caressed her hair and held her in the crook of her neck. Their lips moved for what seemed like an eternity for them.

But never the less they had to separate at one point and they looked at each other as if under a spell.

Sanji was the first one to find his voice again.

"Sara. I think I really really like you."

She chuckled a bit and moved forward to let her head rest on his shoulder.

"Yeah. I think I also really really like you."

He smiled and hugged her tightly, feeling that today was the best day of his life.

"As much as I hate to say it but I think we should eat the strawberries and head back to the ship afterwards. I think Chopper should look at you again because you fainted."

"Yeah you're right."

She sighed regretfully but let go of him either way. Sanji smiled at her and gave her a peck on the nose. Sara chuckled at that and bit into one of the strawberries. A flicker of delight went through her eyes.

"They're delicious."

"Yeah, they are."

Sanji smiled at her and the rest of their dessert was eaten quietly. They both didn't feel any need to disturb the peaceful silence that had fell upon them.

After they finished they cleaned up everything and folded the blanket up.

They walked back to the ship with their hands intertwined and stealing glances at each other.

When Sanji opened the door to the galley he felt that nothing could spoil his good mood.

Oh he couldn't have been anymore wrong.

His smile was wiped off his face when he saw his Nakama.

Everything was dead silent and their faces looked as if someone had died recently. And on the table in the middle of the galley he could see three swords.

Zoro's swords.

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**See ya :D And please don't mind my mistakes. I hate them myself xD **


	7. Disappeared?

**I'm sorry for making you wait that long. Either school or the heat is about to kill me one of these days. Exams are here (i'm almost finished for this term .. finally) and studying in this heat is pure torture. **

**Because it has been a long time i decided to add the last part of the last chapter, so it's easier for you to get into the story again :) **

**And sorry that it's short. But i really don't have the time to make it longer now :( You have to wait for at least 2 weeks until i'm able to update again, but please be patient with me :) Thank you for all your support until now and please continue reading my story *waving flags for you*  
**

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* * *

When Sanji opened the door to the galley he felt that nothing could spoil his good mood. _

_Oh he couldn't have been anymore wrong._

_His smile was wiped off his face when he saw his Nakama. _

_Everything was dead silent and their faces looked as if someone had died recently. And on the table in the middle of the galley he could see three swords. _

_Zoro's swords. _

(~+*+~)_  
_

Sanji stared at the swords on the table.

Zoro would have never left them there voluntarily even if he was somewhere on the ship, and the mood of his Nakama told him that something was completely wrong.

"What the hell happened here?"

He took a step forward and unconsciously let go of Sara's hand.

Upon losing the contact Sara twitched and felt a sting inside her chest and she felt as if she was about to lose something very precious to her, even though she told herself that it was stupid to think like that.

She just had had a beautiful afternoon with a man she really liked. Why would she lose it? There's nothing to worry about! … Right?

Nami looked at Sanji and let out a big sigh. It seemed as if it was her task to tell him everything.

"Well, Usopp went into town today to search for some brushes and on the market he saw that someone was selling three swords and upon further looking he noticed that they were Zoro's swords.

He asked the merchant where he got those swords. But he wouldn't answer, so he rushed to the ship and went to get Luffy. After Luffy threatened the merchant he told us that he found them somewhere near the forest and that a green haired girl lay next to them. "

She halted in her speech and looked at Sara.

"I think she meant you, Sara. I know that you can't remember anything, but if you do, please tell us, because it could help us to find Zoro. As it is now, we don't know what happened to him, but it's possible that your amnesia has a connection to Zoro's disappearance. "

Sanji had listened to her with a straight face and lit up a cigarette. But inside his mind his thoughts were in chaos. He would never admit it out loud, but Zoro was a strong and competent man. So why should he disappear and leave his swords behind? Maybe a strong opponent turned up and kidnapped him? But why should someone in his right mind kidnap Zoro? Absolutely impossible.

He exhaled some of his smoke and turned around to face Nami and the rest of his crew.

"Now, what should we do?"

She looked at him with the serious expression still plastered on her face.

"We'll split up and search for Zoro on this island. Maybe we'll find some clues somewhere."

She lifted up a little bag and brought out a map of the island. She separated them into teams to search on the island. Luffy, Nami and Chopper for the west part of the island. Robin and Usopp for the north part, Franky and Brook for the east part and Sara and Sanji the south part of the island, near the port town. That way Sara wouldn't be strained too much in her condition and someone would be near the ship in case Zoro comes back.

Nami put the map back into her bag and stood up from the table.

"Now that that's settled we should go back into town and sleep. That way we can leave the town early. Sara, Sanji, could the both of you please stay on the ship for the night? Someone should stay here."

The both of them nodded and the rest of the crew made their way to the inn with a grim expression on their face.

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**See you all :)**


	8. Of fear and deep affection

**Finally i updated once again. Hope you didn't wait for too long. :) I love this chapter, don't know exactly why, but i just do. I think it's one of my best and i hope you think so too *g* Even though i have to say that i'm not really satisfied with the end of the chapter, but oh well. If it's too confusing at the end, please tell me and i try to rewrite it. Not sure if it makes much sense to you xD **

**And i think that next chapter everythings going to resolve, which would also mean that i already have around half of my story covered. Took me long enough *sweat* **

**Well, on with the story. Please enjoy reading this chapter as much as i enjoyed writing it. :)

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**

After the crew left, Sanji and Sara stood alone in the galley which suddenly felt way too big. Upon hearing the news of Zoro's disappearance it was as if life left the Thousand Sunny the moment the Nakamas left the ship. The ship, usually engulfed in laughter or fighting noises, suddenly seemed dead, lying calm in the water surrounded by darkness and silence.

Sara didn't know what to say in order to help Sanji, therefore she just walked over to him, wrapped his arms around his waist and leaned her head onto his shoulders. Her hands lightly caressed his back in a caring and loving way to show him that she was there for him. She would listen if he wanted to get something off of his chest.

The instant Sanji felt her warmth he felt safe and secure. He wrapped his arms around her and placed his chin on her head, feeling her soft hair and getting tickled by some of the strands. He took a deep breath and noticed how Sara's scent calmed him down. She smelled like freshly mowed grass, due to their picnic earlier and like the ocean. He loved both scents and he was really glad to have Sara by her side.

Quietly he began to tell.

"You know, Zoro was the first one who was asked by Luffy to join the crew. Therefore he was there from the beginning. He is important for us, just like every one of us is important. No one of us can be replaced and the same applies to him.

He can be a pain in the ass and if no one's by his side he would lose his way every 5 seconds. But he's strong and in the few moments he says something important he says the right things.

Even if our captain is the one who holds us together, Zoro is the one who makes sure that no one of us loses respect for our captain. Which is important seeing how much of a child Luffy can be at times."

Sanji chuckled lowly with a hint of bitterness and Sara still stroked his back showing him that it's okay for Sanji to continue.

"He is strong, so I don't really know why I'm that worried about him, but something isn't right. I think it's because of the swords. He is a swordsman for heaven's sake. He can't really fight without his blades. Even if he has a strong will and won't be broken that easily, without a chance to counterattack he's going to be in a bad situation. "

He let out a sigh.

"I know what he's capable of; we're bickering all the time after all. But I can't help but worry about him. I respect him a lot for his principles and for his strength. He's my Nakama. Part of our little family on this ship. You know, just like a father who's protecting his children by brute force alone. "

He chuckled again, this time with melancholy resonating in his voice. Just like talking about good old times that were already over for a long time.

"Hell, he would kill me if he heard me saying something like that. Please don't tell him what I told you, okay?"

"Okay."

She smiled and somehow the words he had spoken caused her heart to get a little lighter.

Sanji lightly kissed Sara's forehead and felt a bit better after telling her everything. He truly was glad to have her.

Just as he was thinking this his fear of losing her came up again. She was important to him. Even though they just met a few days before, she stole his heart and was able to either make him the happiest man on earth or turn him into a broken man.

He was scared that she would regain her memories and leave him after they found Zoro. It couldn't be a coincidence that she was lying unconscious next to his swords. He wasn't sure how the both cases were connected, but he knew they were, which made him feel contradicted.

He really wanted to find Zoro, they were Nakama after all and even though they bickered all the time they also respected each other. It was just their way to show their sympathy for the other.

But what if finding Zoro meant losing Sara? What if she regains her memories because of Zoro and she remembers about a family or even a boyfriend? Would she stay? Would she leave? Will he still be special in her eyes?

He began to tremble and tightened his grip on Sara. She opened her eyes and looked up into Sanji's visible eye and was confused to see insecurity in them.

She lifted a hand to stroke his hair and spoke to him in a low voice, which was barely a whisper.

"What are you thinking about?"

He opened his mouth as if to say something but closed it again, not sure of what to say. He didn't want to lie to her, so he decided to just stick to the truth.

He lowered his head until his forehead was touching hers and let out a small sigh before answering.

"I'm scared."

"About Zoro? I'm sure that he's healthy and well, you'll definitely find him. Don't worry."

"Yeah, I'm worried about Zoro, but what I'm most scared off is losing you."

"Losing me? Why should you lose me?"

"What if you regain your memories and stop liking me?"

She chuckled a bit and pulled him closer into the embrace.

"Sanji, no matter what kind of memories I'm going to regain, my feelings for you will still be there. So what if I have a family or friends somewhere … So what if I have a different life somewhere … It doesn't mean I'm going to forget you or the time we spent together. Feelings can't be turned off like a light bulb. They may have the ability to change, but even that needs time. There is one thing I am sure of and that is that you will always have a special place in my heart. A part of it belongs to you after all."

She lifted her left hand to caress Sanji's cheek with his fingertips and bit on her bottom lip.

"I love you, Sanji."

She gave him a small, loving kiss on the lips and put as much emotions in this one touch as she could to emphasize her words.

"I love you, too. Thank you … For everything."

She smiled at him and he felt his heart beat fasten.

He gave her another kiss, longer than the first one and with more passion, but tender nonetheless.

"Do you mind if I leave you alone for a few minutes and take a quick shower?"

"No, it's alright. I'll wait just right here. I definitely won't leave you. "

He smiled and started to let go of her reluctantly. He prolonged the touch as he still held her hand even though he slowly moved back towards the door. He only let go when their arms were already stretched and the inevitable couldn't be avoided any longer.

After Sanji closed the door behind him Sara sat down at the table and immediately drifted off deep into her thoughts.

She felt like she should be the one to worry.

What did those mysterious memories mean she had had today? Why were they so contradicting? What did a memory of Zoro have to do with a memory of a little girl, which she presumed was her. It didn't make any sense to her.

At the same time she felt some kind of unknown fear shadow over her heart. Something was about to happen and it will happen tomorrow. She didn't know why it was that clear to her, but she just knew that tomorrow everything will change. And she didn't want that.

She was happy the way it was, except for the fact that a friend of the man she loved was missing. She wants to stay with Sanji, wants to eat the food he cooks for the rest of her life. But she knew that something was about to happen which would make it impossible for the both of them.

This thought led her to the confusing flashbacks again and her mind circled around like that for a few minutes longer, not finding any conclusion.

Sara felt helpless and she knew that she knew the answer to everything deep in her heart, but it was as if something locked it up. Forbid it to come up into her consciousness.

She was too absorbed in her thoughts to even notice that Sanji came back into the galley, with his hair still a bit wet.

He frowned and looked at her with worry in his eyes. He walked behind her and wrapped his arms around her, which made her jump out of surprise.

"What's the matter Sara? Why are you looking like that?"

She relaxed in his embrace and leaned in closer to the touch.

"I'm scared."

"Scared of what?"

"What if I get my memories back and I find out that I'm a bad person? What if I'm some kind of thief or something like that? You're a good guy, you wouldn't want me anymore."

Sanji began to laugh and lovingly stroked her hair to reassure her.

"Don't worry. There's no way I wouldn't want you anymore. A thief? Well, I'm a pirate, so what? Actually that would make things easier and I wouldn't feel like the bad guy anymore."

Sara wasn't really satisfied with that answer and turned around to look at him with a frown.

"It was just an example. You know what I mean."

He looked straight into her eyes and saw that she held the same love for him that he had for her.

"Yeah I know, and I just wanted to tell you that you don't have to worry about such things."

Even though she still had the fear that something is going to happen she was relieved to hear him say that.

He lifted his hand, caressed her cheek and gave her a kiss on the mouth.

"I love you."

He kissed her again and she kissed him back tenderly and lovingly.

Sanji moved his hands to the small of her back and her neck to pull her closer to him. Slowly he let his tongue slid over her lips and her tongue, getting drunk on the pleasure of tasting her.

She wrapped one of her arms around his waist and lifted her other hand to grab his hair in her sudden need to feel more of him.

Their movements became faster and more hurried until Sara broke the kiss completely overwhelmed by her emotions. She was short of breath and craved for more touch, craved for the feeling of his skin.

With trembling hand she unbuttoned Sanji's shirt and let her hands wrap around his bare torso.

Kissing his chest at the place where his heart is she quietly whispered to him while listening to his now fast heart beat.

"I want to feel more of you, Sanji. Please hold me tonight."

Baffled and not knowing what to say he looked down at Sara who also raised her head to look into his eyes. What he saw was determination, love and a hint of lust. Enough to make his blood boil and his mind go crazy with the pictures that flashed through his mind.

He leaned down and captured her mouth with his lips. This time filled with passion and the desperate craving for the woman that stole his heart.

He broke the kiss to pick her up in bridal style and carried her out of the galley to find a better place to prove his love.

She cuddled closer to him and had the feeling that she has never been that save before. Knowing that he would do everything to protect her.

'I love you.'

* * *

**See you :)**


	9. The last day of happiness?

**Hi there, i have the new chapter ready :) I hope you'll like it. Even though i have to admit that i'm scared. Only two reviews for the last chapter. Did you not like it? If i did something completely wrong or anything please tell me. I want to improve my writing after all. :)**

**The next thing i'm scared about is this chapter. This is the resolving chapter (but the story is not over, yet) and i really hope you like it. *sweatdropping***

**I actually had to cry while writing this chapter. Usually i'm not the type to cry that easily but i listened to sad songs while i wrote and than i just cried a bit. :/ I hope the chapter does have some emotions. **

**Well, i think i rambled enough. Please enjoy the chapter and please drop me a review :) Oh and i think this is one of the longest chapters i've ever written. :D I'm proud of myself.  
**

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When Sara woke up the next morning she noticed that the sun was already up and that she was alone in the room. Thinking about their task that they had to search for Zoro today meant that Sanji would most probably be already in the kitchen to make breakfast.

She clenched the blanket in between her fists and started to cry even though she didn't know the reason for her tears.

She just spent a wonderful night with the man she loved and it had felt good. She should be happy and content and not crying her heart out.

But she couldn't help it. She hurt inside because of her fear to lose everything. She knew that today would be the day everything ends, even though she didn't know how it would end. But she didn't want it to end. She wanted to stay with Sanji and love him and kiss him and hold him near.

She wished for something that wouldn't be granted.

She desperately tried to control her shaking and her tears, knowing that Sanji could come inside at any second.

She took a few deep breaths and wiped the tears away with the blanket.

A few minutes later Sara thought she would be alright, so she decided to get dressed, she decided on plain jeans and a plain white shirt and went to search for Sanji, but not before she looked in the mirror to check if her eyes are red. It wouldn't do any good if she worried Sanji. After all they had to search for a person that was important to him.

Tears and sadness are prohibited for today. She sent herself a determined look in the mirror and left the room to go to the galley.

When she opened the door she already noticed the sweet smell of pancakes in the air and a smile crept his way onto her face subconsciously.

"Good Morning, Sanji."

He turned around from his pans and looked at her lovingly and with a big grin.

"Good Morning my angel."

She blushed at that comment and walked towards him to wrap one arm around his waist and to give him a peck on the cheek.

Their eyes locked and pure happiness and content could be seen in them.

Sanji, albeit hesitantly, tore his gaze away and put the pancakes onto two plates.

"We should eat quickly so we can search for Zoro nearby."

Sara felt a pang of guilt in her chest but forced herself to hide it from her face.

"Yes, we should."

After eating their breakfast in peaceful silence, Sanji put the dishes into the sink and packed something for lunch for them. They didn't have the time to come back to the ship for lunch after all.

They started with the people living in the port town. They asked everyone they met if they had seen Zoro or some suspicious people but no one could help them.

There were a few who had seen Zoro walk through the town after he had left the ship and made his way towards the forest. But afterwards no one had seen him anymore.

All in all it was frustrating. They had spent five hours to ask the towns people and they knew nothing more than when they had started to search.

Sanji mentally cursed their luck and decided to go to the meadow where he found Sara and where the swords had been found, so they could eat their lunch there and search the surrounding forest afterwards.

He unfolded a blanket and the both of them took a seat and once again on this day ate in silence.

Sara looked at him with a worried look. Sanji wasn't himself today. Maybe it was because of Zoro. After all Sanji told her yesterday how important Zoro is for him. Not once did he look around or anything. His mind always seemed to be somewhere else. Somewhere she couldn't reach him.

Once again a pang of pain shot through her heart but she decided to push it aside.

She placed her hand upon his hand and showed him a reassured smile when he looked up at her.

"We'll find him Sanji. I'm sure."

She squeezed his hand to emphasize her words and felt her heart swell with happiness when he smiled back at her.

"Yeah, we'll find him. Thank you. Maybe we should get up again and continue our search?"

"Alright."

Sanji quickly put everything back into a bag and folded the blanket up again, not even sparing a glance for the butterflies or flowers around him. The only thing that was on his mind was the search for Zoro.

That's why they instantly made their way over to the forest, looking around for any clues on Zoro's whereabouts.

After two hours more Sanji was officially pissed. He hated the fact that they couldn't find anything. He has never been the most patient type of guy and this whole searching thing drained a lot of his energy. How can someone disappear without leaving something behind?

He was vehemently unwilling to acknowledge Zoro's swords as a clue. They didn't count, after all they didn't help.

Even as he thought those things he noticed that they didn't really sound logical, but he didn't care about logic right now.

"Sanji! Be careful!"

"Hmn? What?"

That's when it happened. He was too caught up into his thoughts that he didn't see the root of one of the trees. His foot was caught up in it and out of momentum the rest of his body was thrown forward which made him fall to the floor. (If you had asked him later he would say he flew gracefully through the air, mind you."

Cussing under his breath he lifted himself up a bit from the dirty ground and saw a clearing right in front of them.

Sara rushed to his side and bent down to see if he was injured somewhere.

"Are you alright?"

"Yeah, thank you. I'm fine."

He stood up and couldn't take his eyes from the clearing. It wasn't as beautiful as the meadow where they had eaten their lunch but something drew his eyes towards it.

If he had to point it out he would most probably say it was because of the building in the middle of the clearing. It looked like a manufacture or something. It was a large brick building with a big chimney which seemed to belong to an industrial oven. The walls were covered in ivy and the grass in front was growing in every direction, so Sanji assumed that the manufacture had closed down quite some time ago.

"Let's look there next, Sara. An empty factory seems like the perfect place to hide someone."

Following his gaze she saw what he meant. Somehow a melancholy feeling washed over her but she didn't know why.

In the bushes a few meters next to them someone watched as they made their way towards the building, but the both of them were too absorbed into their own thoughts that they didn't even notice another presence.

They walked around the whole building to see if there was some kind of entrance where they could go inside without drawing any attention towards them without being seen by whoever could be inside.

But every window was closed with planks and the three doors they found where all locked.

Right now they were standing in front of the big main entry and thought about what to do.

Just as Sanji decided whether to use brute force on the door or walk around the building once more Sara moved towards the second window on the left of the door.

On the window sill sat a single flower pot with a withered plant inside. Somehow the pot seemed familiar to her and when she lifted the pot she found a silver key underneath.

Sanji also thought he somewhere had seen the pottery before but he couldn't remember when. Right now he was astonished that Sara found the key that easily or rather that the key could be found that easily in the first place. He had noticed the plant before, too, but he thought that would be a place too obvious to hide a key.

Well, Sara had proved him wrong and never before had Sanji been so happy to be wrong.

He walked up to her and gave her a kiss on the lips.

"You're the best."

She gave him a smirk and kissed him once again.

"I know."

Sanji took the key from her hands and put it into the keyhole, hoping that it really was the right key.

When he turned the key and a quiet click could be heard he released the breath he wasn't aware that he was holding. Finally something went right today. Now he hoped they would finally find a clue. He didn't dare hope to really find Zoro.

The door opened with a light creek and the both of them could see the insides. The only light source was the door and a few small holes in the planks in front of the windows. All in all it looked creepy.

The factory mostly only consisted of one big room that indeed contained a big industrial oven. Three tables were standing in the hall, covered in dusk and everywhere on the walls, spider webs could be seen.

No trace of Zoro (or anyone else, for that matter) until now. Sanji's gaze fell to the left side of the room and stairs could be seen which led to two doors. That was where most probably the office was seated.

He looked at Sara and pointed at the stairs. She nodded and the both of them made their way towards the stairs as silently as possible.

That is until Sanji suddenly stopped dead in his track. Sara also came to a halt and looked at him confused as if to say _'What's the matter?'._

"There are no footprints."

"What?"

"The whole place is covered in dusk, but the only footprints visible are ours. I don't think that someone was in here recently."

She looked at the floor and nodded.

"Yeah, maybe you're right. But we should go up either way. We're here already, aren't we? Who knows what we'll find."

"You're right. Let's go."

He took her hand and they both walked up the stairs only to find the first one of the doors locked. So they walked towards the next door and were glad to find it open.

They walked inside and closed the door behind them, not noticing the pair of eyes watching them from the door frame.

The first thing they noticed when they entered the room was another piece of pottery, seated on a table in the middle of the room. This time it was a vase. It too seemed familiar to them.

Sanji took it in his hands and looked it up and down, trying to find out where he had seen it before. Sara's sudden scream almost made him loose his grip on the vase and he slowly sat it down on the table again.

"Of course."

"What?"

He looked at her with bewilderment.

"Remember the time we've been at the market? You bought some pottery from a market stall. The man sold the same kind of pottery like this."

Sanji looked at the vase in front of him and too noticed that they were alike.

"You're right. I didn't immediately remember because of everything else that happened. But now that you've said it, the merchant DID say something about a closed factory on this island. Now this makes sense."

Sara had already left her place next to the table and went to a door on one of the sides in the room. It was a door to the room which was locked when coming from the stairs.

She tried the handle but this door too was locked.

"What do you think is behind that door?"

Sanji turned around and looked at her.

"I don't know. What do YOU think?"

"Well, …"

"Why don't you find out?"

The both of them jerked their heads back to the door and saw an old Granny standing there. Her torso was bent forward and a cane in one of her hands to support her. Sanji looked at her suspiciously. He didn't like the smirk on her face.

Sara however felt as if she had seen the woman somewhere before but she couldn't remember when.

"What do you mean? And who are you?"

"Who I am? I am the last one of the family who established this factory, therefore you're standing on my property. What I mean? Well, if you're curious, just look inside the room."

She threw a key towards them that Sanji quickly caught with his right hand.

"But I'm not sure if you really want to see. It could change everything"

Her smug smirk left her face and something like sadness took its place.

Sanji didn't know what the last comment meant but he decided to let his curiosity take over and turned the key around in the key hole.

He expected many different things behind the door. An empty room or maybe even a room filled with old pottery or documents. But he didn't expect what he saw when he looked inside.

The whole room was covered with pictures of Sara.

Sanji looked at Sara and saw that she too was confused to see that. She walked inside and looked at the different pictures.

One where she played the piano, one where she tried to craft a vase and a countless number of even more pictures of her could be seen.

Sanji turned around towards the Granny. He wasn't sure if he really wanted to ask. The fear of losing Sara burned his heart. But he knew that even if HE didn't ask anything, Sara would and she definitely deserved answers.

"Lady, could you please tell us what this means? Why are there pictures of Sara? Who is she? I found her a few days ago and she has lost her memories. Can you tell us what this means?"

She looked at him sadly.

"Of course I can, but you won't like it."

Out of the corner of his eyes Sanji saw how Sara collapsed and he rushed to her.

"Sara, what's happening?"

But she couldn't talk to him. She took his hand inside hers and smiled at him while panting heavily. The Granny answered for her.

"She's going back."

"Back? What do you mean with back? Where is she going? And what does it have to do with her condition?"

The old woman sighed and walked towards Sara and stroked her head lovingly.

"What you see in front of you is not really Sara. It's your friend with the green hair."

"Zoro? That's impossible."

She looked at him and her clear grey eyes pierced his blue eyes and his mind went blank. There were no thoughts left in his brain but his heart was filled with worry and fear.

"Is it really impossible? He disappeared the same day you found Sara. I should know, after all I was the one who turned him into Sara."

"But why? Why would you do that? I don't understand."

By now Sanji was desperate. He didn't want to think about losing Sara or about the fact that in one way or another he fell in love with Zoro. But Sara was nothing like Zoro. She didn't look like him and she had a totally different personality. He couldn't believe what the Grandma told him.

"Why? I had two reasons. The first one may seem idiotic for you, but I wanted to teach him a lesson. He was disrespectful and that's something I can't tolerate.

The second reason goes much deeper."

She let out another sigh and looked at the pictures of Sara on the walls.

"Sara was my daughter, you know. I loved her, I truly did. Everyone in the family did. We all hoped that she would one day marry a nice man and continue with the manufacture. But then it happened. On a warm and sunny day in June when she was sixteen she was murdered. Just like that, by a bunch of bandits. "

The grandma began to shake and tears flowed down her cheek.

"They raped her, killed her and afterwards tossed her dead body into the river. It changed everything. The whole family fell apart and my husband died while going after those bandits. She was the sunshine of our life, but from that point onwards there was always only rain for us.

She was only sixteen. That's not an age to die. She wasn't even able to see something from the world, to travel somewhere or even to fall in love."

She took out a handkerchief and wiped the tears from her face to look at Sara again. Sara was still panting heavily, but she too had tears in her eyes. She couldn't remember everything that the woman in front of her told her. But she felt that the woman was important to her. She knew that she loved her.

"I wanted her to be able to live again, even if it was only for a short time. When I saw the both of you a little while ago I knew that she was happy and it made me happy too. "

She looked at Sanji and he could see the hurt, the sadness and something like regret in them.

"Young man, can you forgive an old lady? For using your feelings selfishly like that. For making my dream come true? For wanting to see my sunshine happy in love? Can you forgive me that I now have to take away what I gave you a few days ago?"

Sanji felt the tears flow down his face and unto Sara's clothes. He didn't want to lose Sara, but he knew that it wouldn't do to sacrifice Zoro's life for Sara's. She already died long ago, after all.

"There is nothing I have to forgive you. I can't possibly stay mad at you after everything you said, right?"

He turned his gaze towards Sara and squeezed her hand.

"Sara, I'm happy to have met you. I truly am. I just wish it wouldn't have to end like that. I wish I could have lived all those years ago to protect you from those bandits. But I fear that there is nothing I can do. "

He moved his face towards her face and stopped a mere inch from her lips.

"I love you, Sara."

He closed the gap between them and kissed her and felt happy that she too kissed him back, with just as much force.

He closed his eyes and tried to enjoy the touch as long as possible, but suddenly he noticed that the lips kissing him were dry and he moved back and opened his eyes to see that the person in front of him was Zoro.

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**See you**


	10. Confusion

**Hello there! **

**I'm sooooooo sorry. REALLY! I know i haven't updated in such a long time, but i swear ... university is about to kill me one of these days. The chapter isn't as long as i wanted it to be, but i have a lot of work to do and i thought that i would at least update that much to let you know i'm still alive ^^ **

**I really hope that you'll watch out for new updates even though i'm not sure when that will be. Sorry again!**

**Hope you'll like the chapter anyway :D  
**

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For a few moments Sanji and Zoro just sat there staring at each other with blank expressions.

Sanji, for one part, can't really form a complete sentence in his head. Before, his thoughts were buzzing like bees inside his head, but now, nothing. Every word in his thoughts, every emotion in his heart stood still. His world has stopped just now. Blinded by the hurt of losing Sara.

Just Blankness.

Zoro on the other hand is confused. He too can't think straight, but for a completely different reason.

Sara has been in **his** body, even if it had turned female it has still been **his** body and he saw and felt everything Sara did with **his** body. Hell, he even had felt **her** feelings.

He felt **her** confusion about remembering one of **his** memories.

He felt **her** love for the cook.

He felt **her** pleasure while sleeping with the cook and he also felt the content feeling which filled **her** heart afterwards.

But was it really her heart? Or was it his?

He knew that it was her mind and soul that controlled his female body but why is it that he feels the love she had felt even now?

And why the hell did it hurt to see the cook broken like that? Is it some kind of "leftover" feeling from Sara? Or is it his own feeling and he's actually feeling sorry for the cook?

It was confusing and he felt frustrated because he wasn't sure how he should react or talk to Sanji.

The both of them were brought out of their reverie by the shaking voice of the still crying old woman.

"You should go back to your ship. You should be there the moment your friends come back."

Zoro and Sanji looked at her lethargically but stood up none the less.

"Once again I have to say I'm sorry. I know Sara had a good time and I'm grateful for that. But I know how you must feel. It would be the best if you forget it. Forget about Sara and lead a happy life young man. "

She bid them farewell and left the building soon after while both men still stood in the small room thinking about everything that had happened.

The first one to come back to his senses was Zoro. He turned towards Sanji but didn't dare to look the cook in the eye.

"We really should go back to the ship. The others are searching for me, aren't they? There is no way to contact them so we should at least wait there for them to come back. "

Sanji just nodded and walked silently past Zoro out of the room and down the stairs.

The way to the ship continued in the same manner like before. Not talking to each other and still lost in their thoughts. Sanji not in the mood to talk and Zoro still confused how he should act towards the blonde.

When they arrived at the ship Zoro sat down on the bench at the grass-deck and opened his mouth, still thinking of what to say to Sanji. But he just walked up the stairs, stepped into the galley and closed the door behind him, clearly showing that he didn't want to talk to him.

Great, now Zoro had to deal with a moody Sanji. What struck him the most was that he was the reason why Sanji was sad. Or rather his existence was the reason. Would Sanji be happier if Sara had stayed and Zoro would have disappeared?

He didn't want to think about that possibility. He may not have been on the best terms with the cook but he surely didn't wish for his disappearance!

Right?

The swordsman didn't know what to think anymore. He closed his eyes and sat there as if taking a nap but his mind didn't want to shut down. It kept replaying the events that happened when he 'was' Sara and the thoughts that formed themselves afterwards.

He didn't even notice that the day had already turned into night and that the noise of the port town has died down so that the only thing left that could be heard was the soft crashing of the waves against the Sunny.

But it wouldn't stay that silent for long. Zoro was interrupted in his thoughts when he heard a shrill scream on his left. He opened his eyes and looked over to find the source of the noise only to see Usopp standing there with his mouth wide open.

"ZOROOOOOO! Since when are you back? Where have you been? Is anyone else here? What has happened to you?"

Shit, he hadn't thought about that part. What should he tell them? The truth or should he lie?

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**See you :)**


	11. Aftermath

**I finally updated after .. holy shit .. almost 2 years. T.T **

**I'm so sorry it took me so long and i don't even want to make up excuses. Yes real life was busy, yes the ZoSan or SanZo couple isn't my favourite couple at the moment but still .. i shouldn't have left the story in such a state. *sigh***

**But at least my muse came back to me (let's hope it won't wait that long until it strikes again!)  
**

**Anyway, enjoy the chapter. I hope my writing style improved a little bit, but well i can also hope for winning the lottery, can't I? ^^)**

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Usopp looked at Zoro expectantly, oblivious to the storm of thoughts rampaging through the first mate's mind.

"Well … you see … it was like … err …"

Unsure what to do, Zoro began to stutter uncontrollably. He didn't know what he could tell them without hurting Sanjis pride. After everything the cook went through he didn't want to torture him even further.

Robin came walking onto the Sunny behind Usopp and looked at the swordsman with a lot of interest. It wasn't everyday that someone like Zoro stuttered like a little school girl. He couldn't even look them in the eye.

Fortunately for Zoro the door of the galley swung open and an expressionless Sanji came out of it with a cigarette dangling in the corner of his mouth.

"Wait till the others are here. It would be a pain in the ass to explain everything countless times."

With that said he turned on his heel and disappeared in the galley again, throwing the door closed behind him.

It didn't take long for the rest of the crew to assemble back on the ship and soon everyone was seated in the galley waiting eagerly to hear the story and, on Luffys part, to get something to eat.

Having made up his mind Zoro told them part truth and part lie. So he spun a tale about how he met an old lady, argued with her and got jinxed. But instead of telling them about how he turned into Sara he told them that he got locked inside the old manufacture and that he couldn't get out of it because he didn't have his swords with him. It wasn't until this day that Sanji and Sara appeared and freed him from his prisonment.

While telling them he couldn't really look his nakama in the eye and he avoided looking at Sanji altogether.

But he needn't have worried. Most of his crew didn't even think about questioning his story because truth be told, Zoro was back and that was everything that mattered for them. So when Zoro finished his tale they started laughing about his bad luck and Luffy asked for meat (obviously!).

Only Robin looked at Zoro and Sanji with a knowing look, but she refused to voice her thoughts. Instead she asked something different, something she was really curious about.

"What happened with Sara? Why didn't she come back with you?"

The rest of the crew grew silent once more and looked at the both of them attentively.

That question was definitely one that Zoro wasn't prepared for. He looked at them blankly for a moment and tried desperately to come up with a good comeback.

At that moment Sanji came to his rescue. Until now the cook had just sat there with a pensive face. He hadn't even really listened to the story because his mind was filled with a smiling and gentle face framed by long green hair. When he heard the name 'Sara' he came back from his daydream and noticed that the swordsman didn't know what to say. So he decided to do the same as Zoro: tell half of the truth.

"Apparently she's related to the old lady responsible for Zoros misery. As soon as the women saw each other her memory came back to Sara. Apparently they are grandmother and granddaughter. She has a husband who's currently on a trip to a nearby island on an errand. In the end she decided to stay with her grandmother. But she told me to send you all her best wishes and good luck on our journey."

As soon as he finished he lit up a fag and otherwise went back into his stupor.

While the rest of the crew turned loud again talking at the same time ("I'm glad she found her family." "She could have said farewell personally." "What a wonderful and touching story. Yohohoho" "Sanji, where's my meat?") Zoro looked at the cook for the first time since they assembled in the galley. He tried to read his face and his eyes but he couldn't. It pained him to see such a blank and neutral face on the blonde. It didn't fit. Oh, how he wished the cook would rant and shout and try to kill the swordsman. Anything to see an emotion on that face. But he knew that Sanji wouldn't. Maybe he was still in shock and had a trauma, maybe he just felt dead inside or maybe he's still feeling too much hurt.

Whatever it was, the cook was as far away from his nakama as one can be while still sitting amongst them.

For the rest of the day Sanji continued to be quiet and reclusive. Only doing his job with cooking and cleaning the kitchen afterwards. But all those actions were done on autopilot. For once he was grateful that most of the crew was dense and naïve. It made sure his behavior wouldn't be noticed for now.

By the time the galley was clean everyone had already retired to bed, but Sanji didn't want to go to sleep just yet. He feared the dreams he would most probably have. But if he feared the good dreams about Sara more than the nightmares about her disappearance, he wasn't sure of. He thought that both options would be bad because it would entail that he would dream about her and he would see her and he would most probably think that he's really touching her. Waking up would be such a torture then.

In the end he was standing on deck, leaning on the railing and smoking a cigarette. All the while wondering what he did wrong in his last life to be dealt such a bad hand.

He was a lady's man, always loving every single woman he came across, but never giving his whole heart away. The single time his heart goes out to one is one who's unreachable. Literally. You can't have a relationship with a corpse after all. Well some twisted minds would argue about that, but well, Sanji still thought of himself as halfway sane so necrophilia is something not even considered about.

He was so far in his thoughts that he didn't notice a tall figure approaching him from behind, walking soundlessly on the grass of the ship. If he had he would have most probably reacted, tried everything to avoid a confrontation with the one person he couldn't look at just yet.

But alas he didn't notice. So he was startled quite a bit when Zoro's voice came from behind him.

"I don't really want to disturb you in your thoughts, but I really think we have to talk."

* * *

**See you and please leave me a review :) I would like to know what you thought about that chapter (and please don't hold back on berating me about my long absence ~.~). **


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